NME Magazine AnalysisBy Ben Matthews

Front cover magazine analysisMasthead

-As seen on the cover the “NME magazine” The masthead is positioned in the top left corner as is general convention. This position allows the magazine to draw the target audience in, as it is the first thing they see of the magazine, This allows them to recognise the brand quicker. Furthermore the font, colour and size of the masthead is different to the rest of the text. With these changes it further draw the reader into the magazine as it catches the eye very easily. This is important because the masthead is one of the main vocal points of the cover and is one of the things the creators want audience to see so they remember the brand, which may evoke repeat purchase.

Header- The header of this magazine is one of the first things the reader sees when looking down the magazine, so the header tries its best to sum up what is on the magazine including special features or USP’s . This is so the reader is interested on rendering the whole cover and eventually buying it.

Puff- The point of a puff is just to give the reader a quick taster of the content inside, giving not much detail on the content itself. By surrounding it with bright colours which fits with the colour scheme it attracts the target audience. By giving them a sneak preview like this it allows them to become intrigued and tempted to buy the magazine and read on.

Main Coverline-This main coverline does follow most of the major conventions of other magazines. The first convention it follows is the positioning of the image, this is because the position at the bottom of the page is general convention. The text itself follows convention as it is bigger, bolder and in a different font to any of the text on the page. This is because as it is the main attraction to the magazine for the readers it needs to stand out to maximise its potential to be seen by the target audience. The colour also follows the general colour scheme created by the main image. As the main coverline anchors the main image at it has a snap quote from the coverstar Dizzee Rascal, the main image also influences the text colour. This is because the main image has a large proportion of white in the background but also in the mise-en-sen through the models clothing. This further informs the reader that the snap quote is from the coverstar with common associations with the main image, for example colour. The slanted text of the main coverline further stands out to the audience but also by slanting this text gives the magazine an informal look which fits with the pop music genre which is naturally informal. This informality can appeal to the target audience, which is more than likely targeted at young people

Footer -The footer is one of the final things that the reader sees when scanning down the page. The features of this footer are similar to the main coverline in terms of colour scheme as it to follows the colour scheme set by the main image which in this case is black and white. The content of the footer is similar to the header as it just informs the target audience of the content which in this case for this magazine is the bands/artists involved in this issue. These are put on the cover as one of these artists may peak the interest of the target audience which could convince them to buy the magazine

Main image-The main image on this magazine follows all the usual codes and conventions of every other magazine. This magazines main image does develop convention as the main image doesn’t fill up the whole of the page unlike other magazines. This is because at the top to the page there is a white segment for the masthead, coverlines and header. By doing this it allows the text to become more illuminated, so its more visible to the reader. The main image has medium close-up image but in the case of this magazine the pose from the coverstar includes his whole body. By doing this it increases the area in which the model covers. By doing this it makes the front cover stand out more as there's more of a focus on the model. Furthermore the pose which is being made is one which that the reader can connote is an excited. This pose also match's the facial expression of the Dizzie Rascal. This is because his facial expression is excited, this could put the reader in a good mood and creates general intrigue into what's happening with this particular artist. As the main coverline also anchors the main image, the descriptive word “Joy” is used. This matches both the facial expression and pose as that is how the audience would describe the models mood from that image. So the magazine has used these 3 to complement one another to draw the reader in. The magazine also followed convention by having the model looking directly at the camera (Reader) By addressing the reader like this it makes them more incline to buy this particular magazine as it relates directly to them. This magazine also has an incredibly brightly coloured background. This background grabs the audiences attention which makes it more likely for them to pick up that particular magazine as it stands out from the competitors better. This bright colour is created by graffiti in the background of the image, this may relate to the genre of music in which the articles about as the music in which Dizzie produces is generally urban style music, so this graffiti image can be naturally associated with this genre of music.

Contents page magazine analysis

Masthead- As is normal convention with most magazine contents pages, the masthead from the front cover also features on the contents page. The main reason for this is to get the brand into the readers. This promotes brand recognition from the reader/audience, which may lead to repeat purchase. This mag also follows convention in its properties and positions. First in this particular magazine the masthead is smaller than the one on the front. This is general convention due to the fact that the contents page has much more text and a larger varety of pictures taking up the space on the page. The general position of the masthead on this page is similar to the masthead on the cover. This is because the brand name of the magazine normally titles the page, which is the same in this case with the title “NME Contents” Putting at the top of the page like this is normal convention for most magazines.

Advertisement- Having an advertisement on the contents page is not generally a code nor convention as having an advertisement on the contents page is subject to the magazine. Normally the contents page will include some contact details or social media details on the contents page to inspire reader- producer interaction. In this case it is an advertisement for a subscription for the NME magazine itself, which does contain contact details to get in touch with the creators of the magazine. The positioning of the ad is significant as well, this is because it is in the corner. This is because it is not the main features of the page so, by putting it in the corner, the reader is more than likely going to see it later after they have read what is in the magazine.

Date line-This is a code for every magazine contents page and cover. This allows the reader to see how up to date the information is within this magazine. The positioning of the dateline is also convention as by having it at the top of the page allows the reader to instantly see how recent the magazine is.

Title-As is convention with magazines the contents page title which is usual like here “Contents” this magazine follows most of the characteristics in which a title like this would have in a professional magazine. As is with most magazines the magazine is positioned at the top of the page, this is because it is the one of the first things that the reader says so it is clear to them what the page is. Furthermore this contents title follows general convention as it is bigger, bolder and in a different font to the other text on the page. This is done so it stands out to the reader further so it is clear to them that this is the contents page, furthermore setting it out like this makes the magazine look more professional.

Page numbers and descriptions- In this column the subheadings follow convention as like the title they are bigger than the actual page descripsions and numbers of the magazines. This is so if the reader has a particular section of the magazine they want to look at (eg- Reviews in this case) then they are able to see the sections and articles which fall under that sub category. By doing this it makes for easier navigation of the magazine for the reader. In this particular magazine the main features have been put on the right with larger font than the page titles on the left. This is probably because the reader is more likely to be looking for the main stories of the magazine rather than the other stories, so by making them clearer than the others on the left it means they will be able to find the main features quicker.

Page numbers and titles.-

Double page spread